A passenger ship carrying 458 people, has sunk in the Yangtze river in China

Most of 458 passengers feared dead as Chinese ferry sinks in Yangtze

A passenger ship carrying 458 people, mainly elderly Chinese tourists, has sunk in the Yangtze river in what could be one of China’s worst disasters in years. WUHAN, (China) — Rescuers pulled... Read more »
Julie Bishop

FM Julie Bishop calls on US-led coalition to include Iran in strategic Paris talks

Australia’s Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has called for Iran to be included in the strategic talks between the US and its allies on how to confront Islamic State. The international conference is... Read more »
City workers Love locks on the Pont des Arts Bridge in Paris.pile padlocks into a truck after being removed from the Pont des Arts in Paris. (Reuters: Philippe Wojazer)

Paris says au revoir to love locks on Pont des Arts Bridge

Paris, known worldwide as the city of romance, has begun the heart-breaking process of removing hundreds of thousands of love locks, padlocks chained to the city’s bridges by adoring couples Couples from... Read more »
Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden is photographed in his office

Beau Biden, son of U.S. vice president, dies at 46

Beau Biden, the former Delaware Attorney General and son of Vice President Joe Biden, has died at 46, the Vice President’s office announced Saturday night. The cause of death was brain cancer.... Read more »

United Nations honours fallen Pakistani peacekeeping soldiers

United Nations on Friday awarded posthumous awards to five Pakistani peacekeepers who laid down their lives while serving the cause of peace around the world in 2014 In a solemn ceremony held... Read more »

Pakistan bus raids: Balochistan gunmen kill at least 20

Gunmen in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province have attacked two buses, killing at least 20 passengers, officials have said. Two buses in Pakistan have been attacked by armed attackers in a region where... Read more »
Indian homeless men rest under trees on a hot summer day in Allahabad on May 13, 2015. AFP PHOTO

India heat wave kills more than 1,800 people

NEW DELHI, India — More than 1,800 Indians have died during a weeks-long heat wave that has sent temperatures soaring to 47 degrees Celsius. Meteorological officials called the heat wave “severe” and warned... Read more »
A policeman carries out an inspection after the explosion at the al-Anoud mosque. Photograph: Faisal al-Nasser /Reuters

At least 4 killed in bomb attack outside mosque in Saudi Arabia

Second Saudi Arabia suicide bombing fuels ISIS campaign fears Attacker detonates bomb in car park of Shia mosque in Dammam, killing four people a week after suicide blast kills 21 at another... Read more »

Israeli military launch airstrikes in Gaza after rocket attack

The Israeli military has launched airstrikes on what it called the “terror infrastructure” in Gaza, following an earlier rocket attack on Israeli territory which the IDF blames on Hamas. Four targets identified... Read more »

Europeans divided on rescuing Mediterranean Migrants

The stretch of sea between North Africa and Italy is the world’s deadliest migration route. Over 1,700 people are believed to have died trying to cross the Mediterranean this year alone while... Read more »
The Burma government has refused to grant citizenship to the Rohingya minority, saying they are recent illegal migrants from Bangladesh.

Migrant crisis: Who are the Rohingya boat people of Asia?

The 1.1 million Rohingya community – a Muslim group which claims to be descended from Arab traders – has fled in droves from their homes in Burma across south-east Asia following increasing... Read more »
Saudi men inspected damage after a suicide bombing inside a mosque in Qatif, Saudi Arabia, on Friday. Photo: AFP — Getty Images

Suicide blast kills at least 21 at Shia mosque in Saudi Arabia

At least 21 people were reportedly killed after attacker detonates explosives during Friday prayers in Saudi Arabia’s Qatif province RIYADH, (Saudi Arabia) — A suicide bomber killed at least 21 people during... Read more »

Moscow Halal Expo 2015 begins

Fair promoting Islamic food, fashion and culture begins in Russian capital MOSCOW, (Russia) — The sixth Moscow International Halal Exposition opened on Thursday. Russian and foreign producers, including representatives of Turkish, Iranian, British,... Read more »
The Karama-Gaza Human Rights Film Festival had a red carpet that ran through the city’s ruins.

Blood on the carpet: Gaza holds first Film festival amid the ruins

Cannes wasn’t the only event that rolled out the Red Carpet this week, a very different film festival is held amid the rubble of GAZA GAZA CITY, (Gaza Strip) — As Hollywood... Read more »
President Mamnoon Hussain inspects a guard of honour alongside long-range ballistic missiles the Shaheen II during the Pakistan Day military parade in Islamabad on March 23, 2015. PHOTO: AFP

Saudi Arabia in talks to buy Pakistani nuclear weapons: Report

Saudi Arabia has made a “strategic decision” to purchase “off-the-shelf” nuclear weapons from Pakistan, a US official says. At the prospect of the international community’s nuclear deal with Iran, Saudi Arabia has... Read more »

Pakistan, Afghanistan intelligence agencies sign MoU to conduct joint anti-terror operations

In a first of its kind deal,  the spy agencies of Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to share intelligence and carry out “coordinated intelligence operations” against militants operating along their porous border,... Read more »

Air NZ to boost Perth-Auckland route to 10 times a week

Air New Zealand is adding extra flights to Perth to support the Kiwi flag carrier’s services to the Americas. The new three times a week Perth-Auckland offering, which starts on December 11 2015 and... Read more »

US special forces kill senior ISIS commander, Abu Sayyaf, in Syria

US special operations forces have conducted a military operation in eastern Syria, targeting a senior ISIS commander and his wife, the US defense secretary has announced. The terrorist leader was killed in... Read more »

India asks China to “reconsider its approach” on some issues

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi says his country and China have been successful in settling some differences between the two Asian giants, as New Delhi and Beijing move to introduce a new... Read more »
Vigils were held in Karachi for those killed in 13 May attack on a bus by gunmen in Karachi.

Ordinary people are increasingly vulnerable in Pakistan’s War on Terror

By Saim Saeed First witness reports testify that Wednesday (May 13) morning’s attack in Karachi on a Shia Ismaili bus was conducted with precision. Eight attackers boarded the bus, purportedly dressed in... Read more »

Dozens dead, many injured after Nepal hit by another severe quake

At least 42 people have been killed after a severe earthquake hit Nepal, just weeks after an earlier severe seismic movement killed thousands in the mountainous nation. Powerful aftershocks have hit the... Read more »
WHO has declared Liberia free of the Ebola virus, confirming that the country has had no new cases in 42 days.

WHO declares Liberia free of Ebola virus

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared Liberia free of the Ebola virus, confirming that the country has had no new cases in 42 days. President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said that Liberia had... Read more »

The axes of Yemen’s war

By Abdulrahman al-Rashed The Yemeni crisis involves several parties, but the major axes are the forces of isolated former President Ali Abdullah Saleh and the Houthis on one hand, and the Yemeni... Read more »
Helicopter carrying foreigners crash-landed in Gilgit, Pakistan on Friday, 8 May 2015.

Foreign diplomats killed in Pakistan helicopter crash

Norway and Philippines Ambassadors among 7 killed in Helicopter crash in Gilgit  ISLAMABAD (Pakistan) – A Pakistan military helicopter carrying diplomats to the launch of projects in northern Pakistan crashed on Friday... Read more »